Great Bridge wins gymnastics district title

CHESAPEAKE

Finishing a meet on balance beam is one of the most difficult aspects of gymnastics.

But Wednesday at the Southeastern District competition at Western Branch, it was downright unsettling.

Great Bridge was preparing to finish on beam when Kourtney Bergsteiner of Hickory missed the narrow plank on her dismount and fell hard on her neck.

The meet was delayed nearly 20 minutes while an ambulance crew stabilized her for a trip to a hospital. Bergsteiner was moving and squeezing the hands of paramedics, and Hawks coach Kim Kenney said after the meet that she believed the senior will be OK.

Great Bridge gymnasts were in the hallway and did not see the fall.

“That really helped, that we didn’t see it happen,” Wildcats all-around performer Genna Bestercy said. “I hate finishing on beam anyways.”

When the meet resumed, the first three Wildcats performers suffered at least one fall. Falls are a half-point deduction.

“It definitely started snowballing on us a little bit,” Great Bridge coach Virginia Petree-Eastwood said. “But we wanted to finish strong.”

The Wildcats did and defended their meet title with a team score of 148.45. Grassfield was second at 146.65 and Hickory third at 144.7. All three earned spots in the Eastern Region meet Feb. 11 at Western Branch.

Great Bridge had huddled with their coach before starting beam, trying to calm each other’s nerves.

“We gave each other a little pep talk and tried to stay focused,” Bestercy said. “We told everybody that even if they fell, to clean up and stay focused.”

Results didn’t seem nearly as important, though, as making sure Bergsteiner was going to be all right.

“We wanted to make sure we got to region, but more importantly that Kourtney was going to be OK,” Petree-Eastwood said.

“These girls all know each other and cheer for each other.

“As long as those two things happened, we’re golden.”

Wildcats all-around performer Courtney Adams captured her first postseason title with a four-event score of 38.525, edging Western Branch’s Jamie Stone by .025 of a point.

Indian River’s Vanessa Underwood was third at 38.2, followed by Bestercy at 37.8.

Adams also won on floor with a 9.625.

Bestercy captured the uneven bars title with a 9.875, Underwood took the balance beam crown with a 9.85, and Stone captured the vault with a 9.875.

Lee Tolliver, 757-222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com